I suppose you've all heard stories of the mechanic who went to change a fan belt on his car and grabbed a snake instead. Or the person changing a tire and when they reached for the jack picked up a snake instead. Or better yet/worst still, the person who stepped on the accelerator when a snake slithered up their leg.
Well, these stories are all urban legends. Which doesn't mean snakes don't like cars. They might like to be around the warm engine. If it's an old car rarely driven, they might find a place of solitude and reflection. Or maybe an unfortunate field mouse who had the same idea.
Debi, maybe you'd better stop reading here. . . .
Well, I hadn't really planned to blog today. I planned to haul firewood. And I did. Two truck loads. And as I was backing up to dump the second load my eye caught something dark hanging down under my faithful Mercury Montego wagon, "Woody."
Was it a broken fan belt?
Was it a detached water hose?
No, none of the above. Though he may be slightly detached.
No, this is a black rat snake. My favorite, in case you didn't know. And I was hardly surprised at all. I wouldn't say snakes are all over the place (because then nobody would visit us), but they're not terribly uncommon either.
This close-up shows the characteristic "disjointed" look they often assume when they're at rest. Judy and I have witnessed it many times.
I wasn't sure how the lighting was, so I moved around for a different angle. He's healthy looking, but not full grown yet. About four feet is my estimate, though Judy pointed out that we never saw his other end. I admit, I did have to extrapolate (don't worry, that's not a bad thing).
Observant Judy asked me why he appeared to be different colors toward his rear (the part clinging to my engine). At first I though it was dirt or a trick of the filtered sunlight. Judy knew from other conversations that baby rat snakes have distinct markings for camouflage that gradually darken as the snake ages. In certain light the markings still show up on adults. But I have a feeling the gray, milky hue on this snake is a sign that he's getting ready to shed. That is one of the telltale signs. Another sign is that snakes are more irritable before they shed, but he seemed to be in a reasonably good mood.
Just one more photo, now. I don't want to forget his face.
Judy went back to the house and I went on to dump my load of wood. Only a couple of minutes later I looked back and saw no sign of my snake friend under the car OR anywhere in the open field around it. So I'm assuming he'd had enough activity for the way and went back whence he had cometh.
I'm fairly certain I'll see him again. And I'll definitely raise the hood and check for him before cranking "Woody." The last thing we need is another urban legend about the snake that became chop suey.
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